


A War of Our Own - Part 2

by Evagorn



Series: A War of Our Own (HEARTBEAT TTRPG 2) [2]
Category: HEARTBEAT (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 10:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21073745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evagorn/pseuds/Evagorn
Summary: The Heroes try to stop the invading Humans from causing further harm, while discovering secrets of terrible import.In the midst of destruction, can there also be redemption?





	A War of Our Own - Part 2

A War of Our Own - Session 2

In the midst of destruction, can there also be redemption?

We rejoin our heroes at the edge of Middeluge city, near enough to see the flames licking at the cloudy sky, but safe for now. They take a moment to get their bearings and discuss their course of action. In particular, they discuss with Azael his vicious actions back at the Inn. He confesses that he only acts that way towards military types, and that he did so to protect Shana. Shana is disquieted by this revelation, but ultimately agrees that Azael should be given another chance. Johannes is less enthusiastic, but for the sake of amity amidst the people he has been caught together with, he agrees to work together. Verticus likewise agrees, though he expresses some concern over helping Azael earlier now that he knows the true extent of Azael’s actions.

After scouring their surroundings, the team discovers another Kappa worker, Flask, who expresses concern over his family down in the city. Shana points out that there’s nothing he can do to help them now, and that they need to seek some place of safety. She then takes a moment to examine the note she was given by the Cat Sith she helped escaped, and Flask spots her doing this and draws attention to the fact. Shana explains the contents of the note: “Los Monstrous... The Half Closed Eye... Saber”. Despite combing their memories, the team is able to make neither head nor tail of this strange note, and thus it is left aside for the time being.

Further examination of their surroundings reveals a group of humans nearby, and Johannes is able to sneak up on them in his Mog form to listen in on their conversation. He sees a Human male named Dregs conversing with an unnamed woman - who Shana recognizes as the one commanding the robots that were destroying the city. The woman asks if Dregs’ people were able to set up the relays correctly, and Dregs assures her that they did. To confirm this, the woman pulls out a remote and presses some buttons.

After a short delay, a massive robot descends from the sky with a titanic crash. The woman seems pleased by this terror’s arrival, and sets it on a course to eliminate any Mogwai it finds. The monster flies away, while the humans disperse; the woman back into Middeluge, Dregs to his ship and out to sea. Johannes slinks back to his allies to decide their next move. All of them are naturally shaken by the sight of that dreadful machine, and they are torn between two choices. On the one hand, Johannes recalls that there is another village nearby called Scavibble which may provide them refuge, as well as need warning about the Humans. On the other hand, Johannes likewise remembers the humans discussing building one of these “relays” on his island. It seems clear to all of them that these relays are the key to controlling the monster, so destroying them might be the key to stopping it. They decide that the machine is too serious a threat to leave alone, and agree to head to Johannes’ island to try and destroy the relays. Flask, the Kappa, is sent on to Scavibble both for his own safety, and to warn the others.

The team manages to reach the island, where they see a group of Humans standing watching over a tall device they presume to be the relay. They spread out, trying to get a good attack on the Humans, but unfortunately Verticus is quickly spotted by one of the guard robots. The heroes leap into action, striking down the Humans and robots as best they can. Verticus is able to use his Lightning Magic to destroy the relay, while Azael, Johannes, and Shana split up to smash the guards. However, one of the Humans flees into Johannes’ cave saying he needs to call the Captain. After defeating the enemies outside, the team heads into the cave to corner the man.

They find him clutching a device that he is trying to speak into. From this device they hear the words “The signal is weak, but it’s on its way!” This voice is recognized as that of the woman from before, and the team seems to understand well the “it” she refers to. They corner the human and slice his hand off to force him to drop the radio, which Johannes takes and smashes. Through intimidation, they are able to coerce the human into telling them everything he knows about why the Humans have come out to Middeluge. Though he doesn’t know much, he admits that the Captain specifically wanted to come out here, even though the higher commanders don’t know about it. He also tells them that the remaining relays are found on two islands, the coordinates of which can be found aboard a ship docked nearby. After learning what they could, and staunching the wound left from his severed hand, Shana incapacitates the man and leaves him to his fate.

The team heads outside and rushes to the boat where they find three Humans actively trying to get it out to sea. The heroes act first, disabling one of the Humans right away, while sending the other two into a panicked flight. Rather than risk facing the Mogwai, the Humans opt to swim. However, Johannes knows right away that allowing them to swim is as good as a death sentence; there is no safe land anywhere near enough to reach. In an attempt to rescue the Humans, Johannes first attempts diplomacy, then intimidation, and finally physical force. He is able to grab one of them, a gunner, and pull him out of the water to safety, but the other Human swims away.

With their new rescued Human/prisoner, the Mogwai convince him to help them reach the next island where the relays can be found. But before they can make any further plans, they hear the terrible sound of the Mech approaching. The crimson monstrosity appears, and threatens them with immediate extermination. With the Human as their new pilot, the Mogwai pile into the ship and race across the water in an attempt to escape.

Out across the water they flee, with the Mech in hot pursuit. Johannes attempts to body slam the creature, but it nimbly dodges away. Shana fire a frosty bolt to try and dissuade it, only to have her attack disperse almost harmlessly off of the creature’s energy barrier. Finally, Verticus is able to fire a bolt of lightning that staggers the dread machine long enough for them to reach the edge of its effective range. Once it reaches as far as its command signal will allow, it ceases to pursue them.

With danger behind them for now, the team takes a moment to recover and make their next move. They discuss with their Human pilot, who finally reveals his name is Ondo, and he agrees to take them to their next destination, after which he demands to be allowed to go free. The team agrees - though perhaps not understanding his actual intention - and set out towards another one of the relays, which is in the north.

They reach the island, where they decide to once more try a sudden attack. Johannes, Verticus, and Azael agree to be part of the vanguard, while Shana is asked to stay behind and watch over Ondo. This news does not sit well with the Human, who was under the impression he would be permitted to leave after dropping them off. The Johannes insists he remain until the relay is destroyed, and that Ondo take them to the final relay as well. Reluctantly, Ondo agrees, giving his word that he will not flee while they are gone. Johannes still does not trust Ondo, and persists in wanted Shana to stay behind. With this plan agreed upon, the team splits up and begins their attack.

Once again, the team tries a surprise attack, which this time goes off quite a bit better. Johannes leaps out of the water in a surprise attack, and Azael attempts a dramatic dismount - which unfortunately ends with him landing face first in the dirt, but otherwise unscathed - while Verticus sneaks up behind and smashes the relay. Meanwhile, back on the boat, Shana can see what is happening and wants to go help. Ondo speaks up and tells her a brief story: He comes form a small Human village carved out of the woods called Harbei. He says that they tried their best to respect the land, but the Mogwai still came and destroyed all they had built, killing every Human they could catch. Shana attempts to explain that the actions taken by those Mogwai had nothing to do with her or any of the Mogs in Middeluge, but Ondo isn’t concerned with that. He simply states that he knows the horrors of war, and gives his word that if Shana goes, he won’t run. Shana accepts this vow, and flies to the island to help her comrades.

Back on the island, Shana arrives just in time to help finish the battle. Then, the team hears a scream for help come from inside the cave. Shana rushes to the mouth of the cave, calling out loud that she is coming to help (which alerts those inside of her presence). At the same time, Johannes, not trusting Ondo, heads back out to the boat quickly to see if he is still there. To his personal surprise, he sees that Ondo has indeed remained as promised, and, satisfied, Johannes returns to the island.

Verticus and Azael follow Shana inside the cave, and come upon a disquieting scene: A Human woman is being held captive by two guards, who are attempting to bring her towards a pool of disturbingly colored water. In a flash, the heroes each have their own internal recollections about this place: Johannes remembers that this cite was used in ancient days as a place of worship for the Old Gods of Solum; Verticus, meanwhile, remembers tales that his family used to tell him about this ancient place, and how Mogwai would come to offer pieces of their living Cores to the Old Gods as a sign of worship. After these revelations settle in, the team attempts to intervene, only to see the Human girl thrown into the noxious pool.

They spring into action, attacking the Humans to disable them, while Shana runs straight for the pool to try and pull the girl out. With some effort so is able to free her, while the Humans are quickly dispatched by Azael, Verticus, and Johannes, who hurried back as quickly as he could to aid is allies. After pulling the girl free, she and Shana share a look, and each of them feels a strange connection. This is something neither has felt before, but it feels like a kind of familiarity. The girl asks if she knows Shana, when suddenly she shoves Shana out of the way as dark tendrils lash out of the pull, dragging the girl back in. Then, from out of the pool, a frightful voice begins to emanate, a voice which shakes those that hear it to their cores: “DEFILERS”.

A virulent force fills the cave, and soon the space is invaded by twisted, eldritch monstrosities that seemed to have been formed from the discarded Core shards of past Mogwai. These abominations attack the team while continuing to chant their hideous accusation: “DEFILERS”.

The team begins a fierce struggle against these cosmic horrors, while Shana makes a desperate dash back towards the pool. Reaching directing into the pool - and letting its fiendish waters scald her - she able to pull the drowning girl free. Once safe, the girl turns her light magic against the horrors, disintegrating one with a burst of radiance. She then is able to use her magic to empower Verticus, who uses it to great effect. Soon, the struggle is over, and the team is left in a state of terrified stupor.

After wracking their brains, the team recalls everything they can about the cave in an attempt to discern what could have caused this. The best hint is offered by Azael, who relates this story from his military days: A troop of Mogwai were exploring a deep part of the Den when they came upon one of these ancient pools. As a joke, one of the Mogs threw their half-finished lunch into the water, saying that was their offering. In response, dark tendrils lashed out of the water and dragged the hapless Mog into the pool, from which they never returned. With this dark hint, as well as their own experience, the team agrees that the power these pools possess is somehow tied to the Old Gods - and is not to be trifled with.

They then take a moment to introduce themselves to the girl they rescued. She tells them her name is May, and that she is a Conjurer. This revelation elicits a strong response from Shana, who retreats from the girl in trepidation. Though May is upset by this reaction, she expresses her own fear, stating plainly that she never quite understood what it truly meant to be a Conjurer either. She does thank the team for rescuing her, and agrees to go with them, as she has no other path to safety in front of her.

May then goes to one of the Humans who had been left unconscious on the field and restores them to health. The man looks in alarm as being surrounded by what he perceives to be hostile Mogwai, but May is able to assure him that he will not be harmed. The man explains to the team all he knows about what they were doing here, and the news disturbs his listeners. The Captain - the woman who commands those robots - apparently believes that these pools can be used as conduits of power, and that she might be able to harness them by offering Conjurers to them. Though the man expresses personal repugnance with the idea of sacrificing his fellow Humans to these arcane rituals, he nevertheless insists that if it would lead to winning the war, he would be willing to follow it. He also expresses his own personal regret at the way May was treated - whether he is believed is another matter.

After supplying what information he can, the man is permitted to go free, though not before Johannes stands in his path. Johannes is not convinced these Humans can be trusted, with good reason, and for a time there is a standoff over whether he is willing to let the Human go or not. Finally, May speaks up: “You know what he did to me, what he was willing to do, and yet I still want to let him go. If you don’t have the decency to do likewise, then I don’t know what to say.”

This impassioned appeal is enough to sway the old Mog, and Johannes allows the man to flee. Finally, Shana flies out and informs Ondo that they are ready to go. When Ondo arrives on his ship, he expresses surprise at seeing a fellow Human. The team explains briefly where she came from, and May likewise states that she is intent on seeking her fellow Conjurers who may be in the same sort of danger she was. The team agrees to help her, with Ondo specifically assuring her that he will help her get home to Outset. But first, there is a final relay and a giant mech that must be dealt with...

Will our heroes be able to stop the Crimson Mech. And what of the other Conjurers and their fate? And finally, the mysterious note Shana was given by the Cat Sith remains looming, with no clear answer to its mysterious portents. With their short-term goal set, the team still faces a dark and winding path before them. Yet with conviction, they forge ahead...


End file.
